He's got something like 67 million reasons not to be depressed and want to kill himself. It sucks what has transpired in his career since signing that contract, but he can't be shocked by the teams actions and the fan reaction based upon how little he has played in the past 5 years and the fact that he has been so bad when healthy during that timeframe.

He may be extremely rich but I feel for him. Depression doesn't care how much money you have or don't have or what your situation is like. Not being able to perform at the level he thinks he can and the constant fan/media criticism can only make that worse.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

He's got something like 67 million reasons not to be depressed and want to kill himself. It sucks what has transpired in his career since signing that contract, but he can't be shocked by the teams actions and the fan reaction based upon how little he has played in the past 5 years and the fact that he has been so bad when healthy during that timeframe.

There's a giant difference between 'not being shocked' and 'feeling absolutely horrible'. I don't think being paid a lot of money assuages the difficulty of having been really good at something and now not being that, especially when that kind of performance is what makes up a giant part of your identity.

From what I hear depression is a bitch. When someone says they want to kill themselves you take it seriously.

Depression is no joke. I have been there more than once. I told my story on here a while ago, in the hopes that just one person who might think it's just a question of "cheering up" or "riding it out" might get help.

It doesn't matter how much money you have, how easy your life might seem on the surface, or how many good things you have that outsiders think you should be able to appreciate. When you're in the throes of a real depression, you don't see those things at all. You are not thinking rationally about anything. You are in constant physical and mental pain. You feel like there is no way out and no end to the misery, and it is difficult to try to explain what you are feeling to others. You struggle to find enjoyment in anything. In a room for of people, even friends, you feel alone, and overwhelmingly so. The saddest thoughts have a way of invading your mind at the most random intervals. You don't react normally to outside stimuli. Concentrating on even menial tasks can be trying. A sad song on the radio can put you into a funk for days. You can find yourself fighting back tears for no reason at all, no matter how "well" your life might be going, no matter how sunny the skies above.

Hopefully, DiPietro got help. Like mrthemike said, when someone says they're suicidal, you don't wave it off as a ploy for attention, or someone feeling sorry for themselves. Yes, some people will do it as a cry for attention, but several others say it with the intention of really following through.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 28 February 2013 - 04:23 PM.

2

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

He should take a step back and see just how fortunate he really is right now. His life isn't that bad.

Sucks that the Isles essentially screwed themselves over by wasting picks and prospects to draft him.

As someone who has depression I disagree with this. A lot of people think you can just hit a switch and no longer be depressed. People think you can just look at the "good things" you have and snap out of it but as CR76 posted, that just isn't the case at all. It completely takes over your mind and you lose all sense of self-worth. With his history of concussions, there is a lot of reason to worry about his well-being for the rest of his life.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

As someone who has depression I disagree with this. A lot of people think you can just hit a switch and no longer be depressed. People think you can just look at the "good things" you have and snap out of it but as CR76 posted, that just isn't the case at all. It completely takes over your mind and you lose all sense of self-worth. With his history of concussions, there is a lot of reason to worry about his well-being for the rest of his life.

Exactly. It was people saying things like that to me that had me in denial about it for years. After a long Saturday spent working, I was fighting back tears, then saw my wife and then-1.5-year-old daughter in the living room when I arrived home (this was about three years ago). For no reason at all, I went into the bedroom, laid on my side, and started sobbing uncontrollably, FOR NO REASON AT ALL. My wife came into the room and told me I couldn't keep living like that anymore, and to GET HELP. I did almost immediately, but I should've done it much sooner than I did. I had been having issues for years, but I was more interested in covering it up and appearing "normal" than admitting that there might indeed be something wrong with me.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 28 February 2013 - 04:46 PM.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

He also said he was being 'facetious' with his quote, whatever that means - either he really was being flip, and that makes him look really bad - or he was being serious but was embarassed to admit to it so he's clumsily walking it back now.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 28 February 2013 - 05:09 PM.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

Exactly. It was people saying things like that to me that had me in denial about it for years. After a long Saturday spent working, I was fighting back tears, then saw my wife and then-1.5-year-old daughter in the living room when I arrived home (this was about three years ago). For no reason at all, I went into the bedroom, laid on my side, and started sobbing uncontrollably, FOR NO REASON AT ALL. My wife came into the room and told me I couldn't keep living like that anymore, and to GET HELP. I did almost immediately, but I should've done it much sooner than I did. I had been having issues for years, but I was more interested in covering it up and appearing "normal" than admitting that there might indeed be something wrong with me.

Look, I know what you're saying. We all have up and downs. My point here isn't that depression isn't real for rich people or whatever. It's that if I was in the deepest throes of depression, a cool $18M over 4 years would help....a lot.

Again, money doesn't equal happiness, but money makes finding happiness 10000000000000000X easier. A wealthy person, no matter their mental state has more opportunity than a poor person, fact. So I just don't feel his pain. He could do whatever the hell he wants with his life, I can't, you probably can't, most of us probably can't just do whatever we want to do, we do what we have so we can do what we want. DP, it's tough losing the dream, but you got a lot closer than legions that came before you and legions that will come after. He can go start some charity and affect the world in a good way or start a business he enjoys. Those are things I don't have, but he does. Therefore, I don't quite feel true empathy for the man.

He also said he was being 'facetious' with his quote, whatever that means - either he really was being flip, and that makes him look really bad - or he was being serious but was embarassed to admit to it so he's clumsily walking it back now.

It means using humor in an inappropriate way. Like a joke, basically, but with the added point that it was made at a socially inappropriate point. If he was being facetious about the depression and suicide stuff, he's an ass.

I feel slightly bad for him. I know a lot of people trapped in depression and the feeling of helplessness.

One the one hand, he has to be disappointed in himself for not living up to the hype that the Islander pushed on him.

On the other hand, he is being paid rather handsomely and is pretty secure financially (if he had good financial advisors).

I know that money can't get you out of depression and the perceptions you hold about yourself (true or not), but he needs a change of pace away from the Islanders. He needs to get his career back, but first he needs to get his head back.

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I was wrong to ever doubt the powers of Lou Lamoriello.
IN LOU WE TRUST @Manta04

Look, I know what you're saying. We all have up and downs. My point here isn't that depression isn't real for rich people or whatever. It's that if I was in the deepest throes of depression, a cool $18M over 4 years would help....a lot.

Again, money doesn't equal happiness, but money makes finding happiness 10000000000000000X easier. A wealthy person, no matter their mental state has more opportunity than a poor person, fact. So I just don't feel his pain. He could do whatever the hell he wants with his life, I can't, you probably can't, most of us probably can't just do whatever we want to do, we do what we have so we can do what we want. DP, it's tough losing the dream, but you got a lot closer than legions that came before you and legions that will come after. He can go start some charity and affect the world in a good way or start a business he enjoys. Those are things I don't have, but he does. Therefore, I don't quite feel true empathy for the man.

It means using humor in an inappropriate way. Like a joke, basically, but with the added point that it was made at a socially inappropriate point. If he was being facetious about the depression and suicide stuff, he's an ass.

My gf is a clinical mental health conselor who is currently working at 2 facilities (hospitals) where they treat everything from addictions to depression to in-patient care. Believe me there are plenty of people who have millions of dollars yet blow all of it on their addiction and those who are depressed yet live in multi million-dollar mansions and drive a mercedes. One of the things she has told me is that for many patients who are diagnosed with depression,almost always money doesn't mean or do squat for them.

It means using humor in an inappropriate way. Like a joke, basically, but with the added point that it was made at a socially inappropriate point. If he was being facetious about the depression and suicide stuff, he's an ass.

I knew what the word meant, I just wasn't sure if he was being truthful about being facetious or not.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 28 February 2013 - 05:25 PM.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03